No biking paradise, but San Diego gets better

Tina Shinsato stops at the Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in front of ViaSat on El Camino Real in Carlsbad on her way to work at a tech company near Palomar Airport on Friday, May 21, 2010. Staffing the pit stop at right is ViaSat employee David Casterton.
— Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

Tina Shinsato stops at the Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in front of ViaSat on El Camino Real in Carlsbad on her way to work at a tech company near Palomar Airport on Friday, May 21, 2010. Staffing the pit stop at right is ViaSat employee David Casterton.
— Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

After a stop at the Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in front of ViaSat on El Camino Real in Carlsbad, Cassiano Scotto, left, and Julie Morales wait for the traffic light to change before continuing their trip to work at a tech company near Palomar Airport on Friday, May 21, 2010. — Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

After a stop at the Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in front of ViaSat on El Camino Real in Carlsbad, Cassiano Scotto, left, and Julie Morales wait for the traffic light to change before continuing their trip to work at a tech company near Palomar Airport on Friday, May 21, 2010.
— Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

Cycling safety tips

• Ride with traffic as far to the right as is practical. Use hand signals and follow all traffic laws and signs.

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San Diego  More than 5,000 San Diego County cyclists traded briefcases for helmets Friday and took to the roads in celebration of Bike to Work Day. But did the roads take to them?

Just how bike-friendly are San Diego County roadways?

“Although San Diego County is a gorgeous place to cycle with awesome scenery, I feel we still have a long way to go before we’re considered bike-friendly. But we’re probably headed in the right direction,” said Odale Baker, founder and president of Major Taylor Cycling Club of San Diego and an avid cyclist averaging nearly 200 miles a week.

Baker would like to see more and wider bike lanes, better road maintenance and more motorist courtesy.

“People need to realize that we are on a vehicle, too, and have the same rights to the road as the motorist,” Baker said. “There needs to be a mutual respect between cyclists and motorists. We need to share the road.”

Regular bike commuter Walt Downey, manager of Nytro Multisport in Encinitas, said Friday that there were “significantly more cyclists commuting today than normal.”

Downey’s shop, which was a pit stop for Bike To Work Day, provided refreshments and maps to about 120 cyclists between 6 and 9 a.m.

San Diego County has more than 1,400 miles of biking facilities, including bike paths, lanes and routes, according to the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, which submitted a regional bike plan to its transportation committee Friday.

The plan proposes education and awareness programs for both cyclists and motorists, 280 miles of new bike lanes and paths, and a $7 million to $9 million annual allowance to be spent on improving cycling facilities in the county.